Getting spiritual understanding

We are encouraged to approach God’s throne of grace with boldness and confidence in times of need while still recognizing the obvious scale of difference between his perfection and greatness and our imperfection and weakness. We do well to stay in this state of confident helplessness. Those who forsake their confidence risk leaving things to fate with a sense of hopelessness, while those who deny their helplessness risk trying to manufacture results through reliance on religious formulas. ‘I fasted, I tithed, I claimed the Scripture, or, I believed - so why didn’t it work?’ (Faith versus presumption)The answer is clear. There is a flow of intertwined shared life with the source of all life and love, and an intelligent approach to this relationship of intimate shared faith. His work is always perfect! (The opposite viewpoint is unacceptable). New Testament faith is a gift from God – It is His faith. So we ask for it. (Galatians 2:20, Mark 11:22 – Own the faith of God)

Acts 14:1. When they went together into the synagogue in Iconium they again spoke in such a way before a great gathering of people that a multitude of both Jews and Greeks believed.2. But the Jews who did not believe stirred up the Gentiles and negatively affected their minds against Paul and Barnabas and the others.3. But they continued speaking, confident that God was with them, and God gave witness to their message of grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through their hands.4. But the city was divided in their support, some supporting the Jews, and some supporting the apostles. 5. But when violence was planned against them by some of the Jews and the Gentles, to stone them, 6. They were made aware of the plan, so they escaped to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the outlying regions. (why not claim the Scripture - Psalm 91 - dash foot against a stone (Matthew 4:6)… or Isaiah 54 no weapon formed against…) 7. And there they continued to preach the gospel.8. At Lystra there was a man sitting in the crowd who had no strength in his feet and had never walked, being lame from birth.9. The man was listening to Paul speak, and Paul looked at the man and perceived (discerned) that the man had faith to be healed.10. Paul said to the man, in a loud voice, ‘Stand up on your feet’. The man leaped up and started walking.

Faith is perceiving/discerning that God is doing something involving you at that moment.Paul knew that God was with him and doing things in peoples’ lives.Paul lived in this powerful bubble of life and love that he shared with Jesus, and the bubble never bursts.. There is a flow of intertwined shared life with the source of all life and love, and an intelligent approach to this relationship of intimate faith. His work is always perfect!